Bellarine garden blooms

BELLARINE local Chris Edwards was homeless with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and her cat when she moved into public housing.

Living in public housing for 30 years, the avid gardener has transformed her yard into an award-winning space.

Each year, the Victoria Gardens in Bloom awards recognise the work of gardening enthusiasts living in public or community housing.

Ms Edwards was encouraged to enter the awards by her public housing officer and has taken out three state awards for a sustainable garden with her eyes set on the overall state award.

Her garden is home to a range of wildlife including bees, wrens and possums while growing all organic, pesticide and herbicide free flowers and produce.

“It’s an interesting mix, I’m always growing vegetables and it’s based on a permaculture and organic gardening principles, so it’s not a classically organised garden,” she said.

“It’s covered under a gardens for wildlife which is a venture between the local council and the local environmental group, who come for a two-hour assessment and when they came, they loved it.

“From that point of view, it’s a habitat, I’ve got skinks in among the mulch and I’ve got a frog habitat, I’ve got little water dishes all over the place, different sizes.”

For Ms Edwards, her garden is a place where she can sit and be still, watching on as the wildlife move around the space.

“That sense of connection with nature is really good for one’s mental health, my garden is one of my

happy places.

“I love growing things from seed, I have seeds that I’ve collected, particularly in the vegetable area from previous seasons and I replant those the following season.

“There’s a great deal of satisfaction from growing things and that’s something else I can do when I’m not capable of doing the heavier things.”

Part of the reason Ms Edwards established her garden was so in the future she had somewhere to sit, draw and paint, especially as she gets older.